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Coverage

Rental deposit

United Arab Emirates — rental deposit (Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 regulating the relationship between landlords and tenants, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008 and Decree No. 26 of 2013; Abu Dhabi Law No. 20 of 2006 and the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) tenancy system)

NationalAEUnverified — check before relying on it

United Arab Emirates

Rule id
deposit.ae
Version
1.0.0
In force from
February 13, 2008
Last read against its sources
August 5, 2026
Countries bound
United Arab Emirates

In plain language

What this regime says.

United Arab Emirates deals with residential deposits under the Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 regulating the relationship between landlords and tenants, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008 and Decree No. 26 of 2013; Abu Dhabi Law No. 20 of 2006 and the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) tenancy system, with disputes decided by Rental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDC) in Dubai; the Rental Dispute Resolution Committee in Abu Dhabi; the equivalent committee in each other emirate. The deposit itself is contractual across the region: this module names the instrument, the holder and the forum, and states no figures.

Who is covered

Tenants of residential property in United Arab Emirates.

What you get

Return of the deposit on the terms of your tenancy contract, to the extent the landlord cannot justify keeping it, decided by the forum named above.

Where claims go wrong

  • Expecting a statutory cap or a deposit scheme. Across the Gulf the deposit is pure contract and the tenancy agreement is the whole of the law.
  • Not registering the tenancy where registration is required, which can stop you filing at all.
  • Assuming the dispute forum is free. Several of them charge a percentage of the annual rent.
  • Leaving the country without a forwarding address and a bank account the deposit can be paid into.
The official claim route

Authority

Every citation,
with its pinpoint.

A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
  1. Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 regulating the relationship between landlords and tenants, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008 and Decree No. 26 of 2013; Abu Dhabi Law No. 20 of 2006 and the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) tenancy systemDubai Law No. 26 of 2007 regulating the relationship between landlords and tenants, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008 and Decree No. 26 of 2013; Abu Dhabi Law No. 20 of 2006 and the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) tenancy system

Sources

Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.

No separate source is recorded: every figure in this entry comes from the cited instrument itself.

What it imposes

Clocks, defences and the ladder.

A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.

What it entitles you to, beyond money

  • Determination by Rental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDC) in Dubai; the Rental Dispute Resolution Committee in Abu Dhabi; the equivalent committee in each other emirateYou are entitled to have the return of your deposit determined by Rental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDC) in Dubai; the Rental Dispute Resolution Committee in Abu Dhabi; the equivalent committee in each other emirate rather than left to the landlord. We are not stating what it will award.
  • An itemised, evidenced accountEvery regime in this product places the burden of justifying a deduction on the landlord. Ask for invoices, quotations and dated photographs, not a round number.

What the other side will say

Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.

"The property needed cleaning and redecorating"

high likelihood

The landlord charges for cleaning, carpet wear, scuffed paint or tired fittings and treats the deposit as a refurbishment fund.

What answers it

Fair wear and tear from ordinary use is not a recoverable loss in any of the regimes this product covers — a deduction must reflect damage or a breach beyond ordinary use, must be evidenced, and must be reduced for the age and remaining life of the item. Ask for the invoice, the check-in and check-out evidence, and the calculation.

"Prove you did not cause it"

high likelihood

The landlord asserts damage and expects the tenant to disprove it, often without a check-in inventory.

What answers it

It is the party seeking to keep the money who must justify keeping it. Where there is no dated check-in record to compare against, an adjudicator has nothing to measure the alleged damage from, and the deduction generally fails on that ground alone.

Where to take it next

  1. Write to the landlord or agentAsk in writing for the deposit back and for an itemised, evidenced account of anything withheld. A dated written request is what every body below will want to see first.Claim direct
  2. Rental Dispute Settlement Centre, Dubai — note that filing costs money up frontBinding on themThe RDC hears landlord and tenant disputes in Dubai and its judgments are enforceable. Filing is charged as a percentage of the annual rent or of the amount claimed, subject to a minimum and a maximum published by the Centre. The figure shown here is the published minimum, not the fee you will actually pay — calculate yours from the current tariff before filing.Courtofficial page
  3. Apply to The landlord or the agent holds the security deposit — no UAE emirate operates a deposit-holding schemeThe landlord or the agent holds the security deposit — no UAE emirate operates a deposit-holding scheme administers the deposit and operates the first-line claim or release process.Alternative dispute resolutionofficial page
  4. Apply to Rental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDC) in Dubai; the Rental Dispute Resolution Committee in Abu Dhabi; the equivalent committee in each other emirateBinding on themRental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDC) in Dubai; the Rental Dispute Resolution Committee in Abu Dhabi; the equivalent committee in each other emirate can make a binding order about the deposit.Courtofficial page

Documents

What this regime can produce.

Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.

The same claim type elsewhere

Albania — rental deposit (Kodi Civil (Civil Code), qiraja)ALNational — AlbaniaKodi Civil (Civil Code), qirajaConfidence: lowAustria — rental deposit (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) § 16b, and the Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG))ATNational — AustriaAllgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) § 16b, and the Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG)Confidence: lowBelgium — rental deposit (Regional housing codes: Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, Décret wallon relatif au bail d’habitation, Code bruxellois du Logement)BENational — BelgiumRegional housing codes: Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, Décret wallon relatif au bail d’habitation, Code bruxellois du LogementConfidence: lowBosnia and Herzegovina — rental deposit (The law of obligations of the relevant entity (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska) and the applicable housing legislation)BANational — Bosnia & HerzegovinaThe law of obligations of the relevant entity (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska) and the applicable housing legislationConfidence: lowBulgaria — rental deposit (Закон за задълженията и договорите (Obligations and Contracts Act), наем)BGNational — BulgariaЗакон за задълженията и договорите (Obligations and Contracts Act), наемConfidence: lowCroatia — rental deposit (Zakon o najmu stanova and the Zakon o obveznim odnosima)HRNational — CroatiaZakon o najmu stanova and the Zakon o obveznim odnosimaConfidence: lowCyprus — rental deposit (Rent Control Law of 1983 (23/1983) for controlled tenancies, and the general law of contract)CYNational — CyprusRent Control Law of 1983 (23/1983) for controlled tenancies, and the general law of contractConfidence: lowCzechia — jistota / kauce (Občanský zákoník § 2254)CZNational — CzechiaObčanský zákoník (89/2012 Sb.), § 2254Confidence: high

Other rights in the same countries

Abu Dhabi Global Market — Data Protection Regulations 2021AE-ADGMSub-national — United Arab EmiratesADGM Data Protection Regulations 2021Confidence: mediumDubai International Financial Centre — DIFC Data Protection Law 2020AE-DIFCSub-national — United Arab EmiratesDIFC Data Protection Law, DIFC Law No. 5 of 2020Confidence: mediumUnited Arab Emirates — Central Bank Consumer Protection Regulation and SanadakAENational — United Arab EmiratesConsumer Protection Regulation, Central Bank of the UAE (Circular No. 8/2020)Confidence: mediumUnited Arab Emirates — consumer protection price displayAENational — United Arab EmiratesFederal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection, and its implementing regulationConfidence: lowUnited Arab Emirates — Emirates PostAENational — United Arab EmiratesFederal postal regulation and the Emirates Post terms of serviceConfidence: lowUnited Arab Emirates — Etihad Rail passenger services and the emirate transport authorities' passenger rulesAENational — United Arab EmiratesFederal and emirate-level transport regulation, and the operator's conditions of carriageConfidence: lowUnited Arab Emirates — Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer ProtectionAENational — United Arab EmiratesFederal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer ProtectionConfidence: lowUnited Arab Emirates — GCAA Civil Aviation Regulations, CAR-PWP (Passenger Welfare Program)AENational — United Arab EmiratesCAR-PWP — Passenger Welfare Program, Issue 02 (GCAA Civil Aviation Regulations, CAR III General Regulations)Confidence: medium

Does this one reach your facts?

The engine runs every regime that could apply at once and reconciles them, rather than making you guess which page to read.

Run your factsBack to the catalogue

Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.